A chilling case of child trafficking came to light when police stormed a nomad’s tent in Bihar’s Purnea and rescued a 6-year-old snatched from West Bengal just two days prior. What appeared as a simple herbal vendor’s life in a roadside tent hid a gruesome human smuggling operation.
It started innocently enough: the boy was playing outside his Jalpaiguri home in Mal Bazaar when an unknown man sweet-talked him into leaving. Smuggled into Bihar by bus, the child vanished into the nomadic encampment at Rangbhumi Maidan. Parents alerted police immediately, who pored over CCTV tapes showing the abductor in action. The suspect was nabbed within hours.
Under grilling, he spilled the beans: he’d sold the boy for 1.5 lakhs to Suresh Singh, the tent operator peddling roots and remedies. A joint operation by Bengal and Purnea police uncovered the child curled up next to his buyer. Singh, hailing from Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh, admitted the purchase but flip-flopped on details, raising red flags about organized trafficking.
These wandering groups, often seen across Bihar and India erecting tents for herbal sales and street performances, now face intense suspicion due to their rootless existence—no permanent homes, no local ties. Purnea cops are combing every such site following the rescue.
Echoing a recent kidnapping from Purnea Medical College—where public outrage via social media led to quick recovery—this case underscores the vulnerability of children to mobile criminals. With the boy and key accused now in Jalpaiguri custody, investigations aim to expose accomplices and prevent future abductions.